Importance of detailed soil surveys for Conservation Agriculture

This paper explores the role that detailed soil surveys can play in Conservation Agriculture (CA). While it is widely acknowledged that CA practices have to be adapted to local conditions, it appears as if in-field physical soil and hydrological properties, the type of information gathered during detailed soil or soil-landform surveys, tend to be neglected. Aspects of soil-landform surveys relevant to CA are discussed, namely plough pan related compaction, soil surface crusting, the hydric properties of subsoils, toposequence effects on soil hydrology, in-field variation in soil texture and luvic properties and soil related features that may affect no-till planter operations. In addition soil-landform surveys can be used to plan crop rotation, crop sequencing and periodic ripping. The soil-landform map units can shed light on the suitability of existing field boundaries for CA. The point data can also be utilised to monitor changes in soil properties over time. Lastly, the suveys provide data and information that can be employed by equivalent management units elsewhere.

• Publication year

  2021

• Venue

  South African Journal of Plant and Soil

• Publication date

  2021-05-27

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/02571862.2021.1989506
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Global spread of Conservation Agriculture

  2018cited by this paper
• Promotion.

  2018cited by this paper
• Long and Midterm Effect of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Properties in Dry Areas of Morocco

  2016cited by this paper
• A Meta-Analysis of Long-Term Outpatient Treatment Effects for Children and Adolescents with Conduct Problems

  2016cited by this paper
• Beyond conservation agriculture

  2015cited by this paper
• The farm-level economics of conservation agriculture for resource-poor farmers

  2014cited by this paper
• Sense and nonsense in conservation agriculture: Principles, pragmatism and productivity in Australian mixed farming systems

  2014cited by this paper
• No-till and conservation agriculture in the United States: An example from the David Brandt farm, Carroll, Ohio

  2014cited by this paper
• A fourth principle is required to define Conservation Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: The appropriate use of fertilizer to enhance crop productivity

  2014cited by this paper
• Understanding the impact and adoption of conservation agriculture in Africa: A multi-scale analysis

  2014cited by this paper
• Conservation agriculture cropping systems in temperate and tropical conditions, performances and impacts. A review

  2012cited by this paper
• Comparative performance of conservation agriculture and current smallholder farming practices in semi-arid Zimbabwe

  2012cited by this paper
• Conservation agriculture in the dry Mediterranean climate

  2012cited by this paper
• Conservation agriculture for small holder rainfed farming: Opportunities and constraints of new mechanized seeding systems

  2012cited by this paper
• A meta-analysis of long-term effects of conservation agriculture on maize grain yield under rain-fed conditions

  2011cited by this paper
• A research agenda to explore the role of conservation agriculture in African smallholder farming systems

  2011cited by this paper
• Conservation Agriculture and Soil Carbon Sequestration: Between Myth and Farmer Reality

  2009cited by this paper
• Plant roots : the hidden half

  1991cited by this paper
• Penetration resistance of fine sandy apedal soils as affected by relative bulk density, water content and texture

  1988cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.